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Item: Personal Odradek

Koen Theys

1997

Sculpture, variable dimensions .
Materials: metal wire, photo collages

Collection: M HKA, Antwerp (Inv. no. M00277).

Odradek is a tiny fictitious creature from Franz Kafka’s short story, Die Sorge des Hausvaters. Resembling a bobbin, it lives in the basements of the neighbourhood's residents. The Odradek does nothing, is barely alive and has absolutely no purpose in life. Nevertheless, the narrator laments, while the Odradek appears to be inferior to humankind, he will outlast them. Koen Theys has applied this principle to both his work and life. There is a structure, a tangle of iron wire from which images of all his works between 1987 and 1997 hang. The work is displayed supine. The shape of the structure is altered each time it is moved, yet the coherence of the piece remains intact. It is a fluid work of art that is a hat tip to itself.

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About M HKA / Mission Statement

The M HKA is a museum for contemporary art, film and visual culture in its widest sense. It is an open place of encounter for art, artists and the public. The M HKA aspires to play a leading role in Flanders and to extend its international profile by building upon Antwerp's avant-garde tradition. The M HKA bridges the relationship between artistic questions and wider societal issues, between the international and the regional, artists and public, tradition and innovation, reflection and presentation. Central here is the museum's collection with its ongoing acquisitions, as well as related areas of management and research.

About M HKA Ensembles

The M HKA Ensembles represent our first steps towards initiating the public to today's art-related digital landscape. With the help of these new media, our aim is to offer our artworks a better and fuller array of support for their presentation and public understanding.